Several crimes on UK campus lead to safety concerns
LEXINGTON, Ky. (ABC36 NEWS NOW) – Friday marked the end of the second week of classes at the University of Kentucky.
An exciting time for the thousands of students who attend the school, but some students on campus are concerned about their safety after receiving an email on Thursday about two separate crimes on campus.
“Well it does definitely make me feel less safe for sure,” said Nate Unthank, a freshman at UK. “I do wish there was more police presence on campus, because I kind of only see one or two UK P.D. a day.”
Both crimes occurred on Tuesday, September 3rd.
One incident was for strangulation and sexual assault inside a dorm room. UK Police Chief Joe Monroe says the incident was between a boyfriend and his girlfriend. According to a release from UK, it is still under investigation.
The second incident on campus was a robbery.
“It was two individuals that were trying to do a TikTok or Youtube prank, they were robbing people and using a firearm to do it and then posting it on video,” said Monroe.
Monroe says both were charged with armed robbery.
After finding out what happened, some students think UK police could be doing more.
“Maybe some more of the emergency things, they could definitely add a couple more of those, they seem kind of spread out,” said Andrew Shelton, a sophomore at UK. “Maybe have a bit more of on campus officers walking around and stuff like that.”
Chief Monroe says safety is a primary mission on campus and will be increasing its presence on the north side of campus and other residential areas in the coming weeks.
Some safety measures UK has in place include more than 4,000 cameras across campus and 55 blue light emergency phones. Students can also use their mobile safety app in the case of an emergency.
